Kornimate/medical-research-clean huggingface dataset:
phase ii pilot study of cyclophosphamide and rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin as salvage therapy in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis

Conditions: Systemic Sclerosis

Summary: objectives: i. determine the toxicity of cyclophosphamide and rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis. ii. determine the efficacy of this regimen in terms of controlling disease in these patients.

protocol outline: patients receive cyclophosphamide iv over 1-2 hours on day 1 and rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin iv over 6-8 hours on days 2-5. patients are followed on days 60-85 and then every 3 months for 1 year.

Eligibility criteria:
protocol entry criteria: --disease characteristics-- diagnosis of diffuse systemic sclerosis progressive disease skin score at least 16 interstitial or pulmonary vasculitis (fvc or dlco no greater than 70% predicted) with evidence of alveolitis by bronchoalveolar lavage (bal) proteinuria (more than 500 mg/24 hours) rapid deterioration in pulmonary function (at least 15% decrease in fvc or dlco within the past 6 months) or new evidence of alveolitis by ct scan changes or bal no acute renal failure secondary to systemic sclerosis crisis dlco greater than 20% predicted ineligible for or refused autologous or allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell or bone marrow transplantation --prior/concurrent therapy-- endocrine therapy: concurrent prednisone allowed if prior chronic use other: at least 4 days since prior immunosuppressive therapy --patient characteristics-- performance status: karnofsky 50-100% hematopoietic: absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm3 platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 hepatic: bilirubin less than 2.5 times upper limit of normal (uln) sgot less than 2.5 times uln renal: see disease characteristics creatinine clearance at least 35 ml/min no requirement for renal dialysis cardiovascular: ejection fraction greater than 45% no myocardial infarction within the past 12 months no unstable angina no uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmias no evidence of congestive heart failure pulmonary: see disease characteristics other: * not pregnant * negative pregnancy test * fertile patients must use effective contraception * hiv negative * no active uncontrolled infection * no hypersensitivity to rabbit proteins * no prior hemorrhagic cystitis requiring transfusion * no concurrent active hemorrhagic cystitis by cystoscopy (if prior history) * no concurrent malignancy

Keywords: arthritis & connective tissue diseases rare disease systemic sclerosis
a randomized controlled trial of an online support group for sexual distress due to gynecologic cancer

Conditions: Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Ovarian Neoplasms; Uterine Neoplasms; Genital Neoplasms, Female

Summary: there is a high prevalence of sexual and body image problems among women treated for gynecologic cancer, which can lead to considerable distress. given the sensitive and highly personal nature of these problems, women are often reluctant to speak to their doctors about these concerns and have few resources for support and information. the research team will conduct a prospective randomized controlled trail (rct) to test the benefits of "gynegals," a 12-week online (i.e. internet-based) support group intervention for women who are sexually distressed due to gynecologic cancer and its treatment. the primary aim of this study is to determine whether a professionally-facilitated, information-rich, online support group is beneficial for women who are sexually distressed due to gynecologic cancer and the side effects of treatment.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * received surgical, radiation or chemotherapy treatments for any gynecologic cancer * not receiving active treatment * currently disease-free for a minimum of 3 months * no more than 5 years post-diagnosis * distressed due to psychosexual concerns related to cancer * willing to discuss psychosexual concerns * 18 years or older * has access to a computer and the internet * speaks, reads, and writes in english * provides informed consent exclusion criteria: * acutely suicidal (i.e., actively suicidal within the previous 3 months) * has a major psychiatric illness

Keywords: sexual dysfunctions, psychological psychotherapy, group genital neoplasms, female endometrial neoplasms fallopian tube neoplasms ovarian neoplasms urogenital neoplasms uterine cervical neoplasms uterine neoplasms vaginal neoplasms vulvar neoplasms
effects of methylphenidate on attention deficits in childhood cancer survivors

Conditions: ALL, Childhood; Leukemia, Lymphoblastic; Leukemia, Lymphoblastic, Acute; Leukemia, Lymphoblastic, Acute, L1; Leukemia, Lymphoblastic, Acute, L2; Leukemia, Lymphoblastic, Acute, Philadelphia-Positive; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Acute; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Acute, L1; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Acute, L2; Lymphoblastic Leukemia; Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute; Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute, Childhood; Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute, L1; Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute, L2; Lymphoblastic Lymphoma; Lymphocytic Leukemia, Acute; Lymphocytic Leukemia, L1; Lymphocytic Leukemia, L2; Brain Tumors; Cancer of the Brain; Cancer of Brain; Malignant Primary Brain Tumors; Brain Neoplasms, Malignant

Summary: while neurocognitive impairments in attention, memory and executive functioning are commonly reported sequelae of childhood leukemia and brain tumors, studies have only recently begun to examine the treatment of attention deficits in this population. numerous studies have examined the effectiveness of methylphenidate in the treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd). however, the effectiveness of this medication for improving attention and behavioral functioning in children with medical illnesses or brain injury are less clear. patients will be randomized to receive one week of metadate cd (a controlled release form of methylphenidate, similar to ritalin) and one week of placebo in a double-blind fashion.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: initial screening and registration * previous diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or brain tumor and have been off treatment and in disease-free remission for a minimum of one year; treated at the university of minnesota medical center, fairview. * proficient in english * have given informed consent (assent) after initial screening * have evidence of attention impairment based on parent report of attention deficit (\> and = 75% on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder \[adhd\] index, hyperactivity, or cognitive-problems/inattention index of parent-completed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) rating scale \[conners parent rating scale\] and perform at least 1.0 standard deviations below the mean on omissions, commissions, or variability indexes of the test of variables of attention (tova) * have an estimated full scale iq score on the wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence (wasi) \>55. exclusion criteria: * have optic pathway gliomas and/or neurofibromatosis * diagnosed with add/adhd prior to their cancer diagnosis * currently taking antidepressants or antipsychotics * currently being treated with stimulant medication * blind * have glaucoma * have a family or personal history of motor or phonic tics or tourette syndrome * have seizures not controlled by antiepileptic drugs * taking an mao-inhibitor * have a history of cardiovascular disease, uncontrolled hypertension, or hyperthyroidism, or current hypertension requiring antihypertensives
a novel portable upper gastrointestinal endoscopy system

Conditions: Digestive System Disease; Diagnoses Disease

Summary: the application of conventional endoscopy in remote and outdoor areas lacking facilities remains challenges. thus, the investigators developed a novel portable upper gastrointestinal endoscopy system that has the same functions as conventional endoscopy. a total of 24 participants from a medical unit on a remote island in china underwent endoscopy with the portable system between march and june 2021. the portable system packed into a suitcase is 68 × 42 × 32 cm in size, weighing less than 35 kg, and comprises a disposable sheathed system.

the application of conventional endoscopy in remote and outdoor areas lacking facilities remains challenges. thus, the investigators developed a novel portable upper gastrointestinal endoscopy system that has the same functions as conventional endoscopy. a total of 24 participants from a medical unit on a remote island in china underwent endoscopy with the portable system between march and june 2021. the portable system packed into a suitcase is 68 × 42 × 32 cm in size, weighing less than 35 kg, and comprises a disposable sheathed system. the examination time and any malfunctions in the portable endoscopy system during the examination were recorded. after the examination was finished, the disposable sheathed system was removed, and a pressure leak test was performed to check the seal of the system. the patients were followed up within three days to confirm any adverse events such as nausea, vomiting, throat discomfort, bleeding, etc.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * patients who underwent endoscopy examination with the portable system were aged from 18-70 years and presented with upper abdominal complaints. exclusion criteria: * the exclusion criteria were the same as the contraindications for conventional upper gi endoscopy and included latex allergy
preliminary efficacy of a technology-based physical activity intervention for older korean adults during the covid-19 pandemic

Conditions: Cardiovascular Health; Physical Function

Summary: this study tested preliminary efficacy of a hybrid (web-based and center-based) pa intervention combining use of a smartwatch and mobile application. the 12-week hybrid pa intervention included 120 older korean adults and was concurrently implemented in-person at the local senior center and at-home through a web-based modality. overall, increases were evident in systolic/diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and high-density-lipoprotein at posttest, with decreases seen for triglyceride levels. participants showed improvements in muscular function and cardiopulmonary endurance.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * aged 60 and over * enrolled member at the participating senior center for at least three years * fluent in korean exclusion criteria: * younger than 60 years old * less than three years enrollment at the senior center * cannot read and speak korean

Keywords: physical activity intervention older adults
ultrasound-guided mid-point transverse process to pleura block for thoracotomy incisions

Conditions: Pre-emptive; Postoperative Pain; Thoracotomy

Summary: this study is designed to investigate the analgesic efficacy of pre-emptive ultrasound-guided midpoint transverse process to pleura (mtp) block for posterolateral thoracotomy in cardiothoracic surgeries.

preemptive preoperative analgesia was first proposed, over the years it has been gradually regarded as an intervention given before incision, facilitating mobilization and functional rehabilitation after surgery, reducing postoperative opioid consumption, decreasing the incidence of adverse events and improving patient satisfaction. the mid transverse process to pleura block, described by costach et al. involves deposition of drug midway between the transverse process and pleura. costach et al. postulated that the local anesthetic deposited at this point may reach the paravertebral space through several possible mechanisms, such as spread medially through the gap between the superior costotransverse ligament (sctl) and vertebral bodies, through fenestrations in sctl, and laterally through the internal intercostal membrane

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * patients aged 21- and65 years old * american society of anesthesiologists (asa) ii-iii * scheduled for posterolateral thoracotomy operation under general anesthesia exclusion criteria: * patients with bleeding disorders, * mental or cognitive dysfunction * history of chronic analgesic or drug abuse * allergy to local anesthetics * local infection at site of block
biological markers in patients with pancreatic cancer experiencing weight loss

Conditions: Cachexia; Pancreatic Cancer

Summary: rationale: learning about biological markers in patients with pancreatic cancer and cachexia may help doctors predict patient outcome and may help the study of cancer in the future. purpose: this laboratory study is examining biological markers in patients with pancreatic cancer experiencing weight loss.

objectives: * compare levels of caspase-3 and phosphorylated akt (pakt) in the rectus abdominous muscle of patients with pancreatic cancer who are experiencing cachexia and are undergoing surgery for diagnosis or primary therapy with patients who have not lost weight and are undergoing abdominal surgery for nonmalignant conditions. * compare levels of urinary 3-methylhistidine (3-mh) in these patients. * evaluate possible correlations of caspase-3 activity, pakt, and urinary 3-mh with early time to progression and subsequent lean body weight loss in patients with pancreatic cancer. * associate excretion of urinary 3-mh with higher levels of caspase-3 activity and pakt to analyze the utility of 3-mh as a marker of skeletal muscle proteolysis. outline: this is a pilot study. during surgery, a muscle biopsy is performed and approximately 1 cm of rectus abdominous muscle is obtained for analysis. caspase-3 activity and total/phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase and akt are measured in muscle biopsies by western blot analysis. 3-methylhistidine activity is measured in urine samples. after completion of study, patients with pancreatic cancer are followed postoperatively at 3 and 6 months. projected accrual: a total of 36 patients will be accrued for this study.

Eligibility criteria:
disease characteristics: * meets 1 of the following criteria: * diagnosis or suspicion of pancreatic cancer * any stage disease allowed * at least 5% weight loss within the past 6 months * scheduled to undergo exploratory surgery * scheduled to undergo exploratory surgery for suspected nonmalignant condition * no weight loss or weight loss due to specific reason (e.g., bowel obstruction, infection, or nausea/vomiting) * no cancer diagnosis other than primary pancreatic carcinoma patient characteristics: * ecog performance status 0-3 * life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks * no pacemakers or implanted defibrillators prior concurrent therapy: * prior or concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy allowed * prior or concurrent biological therapy and surgery allowed * at least 4 weeks since prior corticosteroids or anabolic steroids * other concurrent anticancer therapy allowed * no concurrent corticosteroids or anabolic steroids, thalidomide, eicosapentaenoic acid (epa), or juven for weight loss * concurrent steroids (i.e., antiemetics) associated with chemotherapy allowed * no concurrent nutritional supplements with epa

Keywords: recurrent pancreatic cancer stage i pancreatic cancer stage ii pancreatic cancer stage iii pancreatic cancer stage iv pancreatic cancer cachexia
attention bias modification treatment for major depressive disorder in adolescents

Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode, Unspecified

Summary: in this study, we test whether a two-week 8-session neutral attention bias modification (abm) training and a two-week 4-session positive abm could reduce depressive symptoms relative to placebo controls in adolescents with major depressive disorder at posttraining and follow-ups during one year.

depression is a common health problem in adolescents. negative attentional bias has been theorized to play a critical role in the onset and maintenance of depression, suggesting that reduction of such biases may treat symptoms of depression. recent studies have shown that attention bias modification(abm) training could reduce depressive symptoms in both dysphoria and previously depressed adult patients.to test the effectiveness of abm training on the treatment of depressive symptoms in depressed adolescents, we designed a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial in adolescents with major depressive disorder(mdd).

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * meet the major depression disorder's criteria exclusion criteria: * bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or organic mental disorder; * any concurrent psychotherapy; * any concurrent psychotropic medication.

Keywords: depression，adolescent，attention bias，modification
suppressed anger, blood pressure and mortality follow-up

Conditions: Cardiovascular Diseases; Heart Diseases; Coronary Disease; Hypertension

Summary: to re-examine the relationship between suppressed anger, elevated blood pressure and all-cause as well as coronary heart disease (chd) mortality using data from the life change event study (lces) conducted on a representative sample of the tecumseh community health study (tchs), n=696, men and women, aged 30-69 in 1971-1972.

design narrative: the psychosocial data (e.g. anger-expression, stressful life events) and some medical data (e.g. blood pressure, smoking) were collected in 1971/72, while additional information about other medical risk factors was collected in 1968/69. mortality ascertainment and cause of death was completed by the end of 1989, through tchs staff, using the national death index (ndi). the estimated cumulative 18-year mortality rate as of 1989 for the tecumseh cohort of the same age as the lces sample was 26 percent for males and 16 percent for females. approximately 144 deaths were expected. out of the total tchs cohort deaths, 35 percent were estimated to be due to chd. research questions tested included: (1) did suppressed anger predict coronary heart disease mortality as well as all-cause mortality; (2) was the relationship between suppressed anger and mortality modified by other risk factors (e.g. blood pressure, marital stress, gender); (3) were there certain anger-coping strategies among married couples which increased mortality risk for one or both members of the marital pair. analyses were done at three levels: for the whole sample, separately for males and females, and for a subgroup of 192 married couples it was done by 'pairs'. to determine univariate association between anger-coping types and all-cause mortality, the percent deceased was compared among persons grouped according to their anger responses. for the situation-specific and total suppressed anger indices, the distribution of scores was divided into thirds. the significance of each association was tested using chi-square statistics. logistic regression was employed to test for the significance of the association between anger-coping measures and mortality controlling for sex, age, education, marital stress, relative weight, smoking, systolic blood pressure, chd status, bronchitis, and fev1 scores. logistic regression was also used to determine whether any of the risk factors, particularly blood pressure, gender and marital stress, significantly modified the relationship between suppressed anger and mortality. the design and measures of this study had the potential to further identify specific person-situation characteristics associated with higher risks of total as well as cause specific mortality which then could be used to make more knowledgeable recommendations for health behavior interventions. the study completion date listed in this record was obtained from the "end date" entered in the protocol registration and results system (prs) record.

Eligibility criteria:
no eligibility criteria
dissecting the molecular and cellular pathophysiology of sarcopenic obesity in the elderly

Conditions: Sarcopenic Obesity

Summary: ageing is characterised by a change in body composition with a parallel decrease in muscle mass and an increase and central redistribution of fat. when drastically exacerbated, these two processes culminate in a condition known as sarcopenic obesity (so). so is characterised by the coexistence of obesity and sarcopenia (i.e. reduced muscle mass and function) and is a growing public health problem in the elderly. the health risks of obesity and sarcopenia act synergistically, maximising the risk of disability of os. the molecular mechanisms underlying os are largely unknown. increased fat mass induces chronic systemic inflammation and alters the profiles of adipokines and hormones, promoting the development of sarcopenia. on the other hand, the reduction in muscle tissue (sm) typical of sarcopenia is characterised by an alteration in the metabolic properties of skeletal muscle with an increase in insulin resistance and a reduction in energy expenditure that favours the accumulation and dysfunction of adipose tissue (at). the cellular alterations that would seem to underlie os are: altered autophagy, cellular senescence, epigenetic and mitochondrial alterations and maladaptive activation of intra- and intercellular inflammatory circuits (e.g. cytokines, extracellular vesicles, dysfunctional circulating leukocytes). however, the interconnections between these mechanisms are still unclear. the impact of os can be dramatic on the health and quality of life of those affected. therefore, the identification of early biomarkers that can recognise overweight and obese individuals at risk of developing so is of paramount importance. this would shed light on the heterogeneity of an otherwise homogeneous clinical condition, opening new horizons towards the conscious design of more personalised therapeutic strategies, allowing a more rational use of the limited resources available for the growing elderly population. the study design designed to achieve this aim is a cross-sectional observational study with an additional multicentre procedure lasting two years.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: patients who are candidates for hip surgery * patients who are candidates for hip surgery * age ≥ 65 years * patients able to give consent healthy subjects - healthy subjects from the geriatric cohort studied in 2016-2017 who at that time were: were overweight (25 ≤ bmi \< 30 kg/m2) or obese (bmi ≥ 30 kg/m2) but had not yet developed sarcopenia exclusion criteria: all partecipants * unavailability to participate in the study * inflammatory or neurological myopathies * acute heart failure * active cancer